Kids Discover Holiday Specials - Antarctica and Washington DC

Kids Discover has released many awesome iPad apps full of information on various subjects, and during this Holiday Season two of these apps are now free.  Hurry and download Antarctica and Washington DC before the price jumps back up, especially if you have a classroom set of iPads.

These apps provide great non-fictional reading opportunities for students as they will learn all about topics and issues surrounding both Antarctica and Washington DC, including people, animals, and the environment.

The app also provides an opportunity to view excellent photography along with many short video clips.

You can explore among several areas, play a few educational games, or take a quiz.

 

Download these apps soon and explore, I'm sure you'll learn much from exploring with these excellent apps from Kids Discover.

A+ Spelling

A+ Spelling is a free app that involves the students from start to finish in an iPad environment which helps them master spelling lists.

I had the opportunity to visit a first grade classroom and observe how one educator implemented this app with her students.

Her first step was to review the spelling list of words with her class. 

Then each student enters their list on an iPad. One nice feature about having students enter their list is that they first type it in, and then the student voice records their annunciation.  Here is where it can get tricky, first graders tend to make a few mistakes during their initial entries.  Hmmm, imagine that.  Be ready to revise and re-record entries as students create their lists.

When the list is completely entered, there are several activities students can complete to practice their spelling competency. In each activity the student listens to the word, then types in their spelled version.

Finally students can "test" their word list, which will assess them over the entire list.  Students are instantly scored on their words providing them with an opportunity to respell any missed words, and also completely retest.  All test results are stored on the iPad.

iPad Integrated into PE/Health

Agenda for December 18, 2013

Objective: To experience an example of iPad activities in several different categories, and share additional ideas generated by the group.

• Create a Certificate of Achievement using PicCollage 
• 4 Corner Groups 

• Fooducate App Activity (an iphone app)
• Calorie Counter by MyFitness     
• Fast Food Calories

• Collecting Student Data
• Fitness Test - an example google form
• 4 Corner Groups - how do you collect student data and how are you looking to improve efficiency?

• Coaching App Activity with Ubersense
• SlowPro - Take video and watch it in slow motion
• EasyTag - Create tags to chart occurrences of different performance indicators to display instant statistics of their frequencies

• Create your PSA with Videolicious
• 4 Corner Group create
• 4 Corner Mixer shareout

• Solve the Outbreak App Activity  

• Timers, Tests and other Health Related Apps (hearing, site, fitness, and more)

• Hearing Test:  Siemens   or    uHear
• Vision Test
• BMI Calculator and Weight Tracker
• Virtual Heart
• 3-d Brain
• Build a Body
• Human Body Puzzle
• GermBlaster
• Remind 101 
• Speed Dating Shareout 

• Brain Break App Activity
• PopFlux Tournament 
• 4 Corner Groups - Need popflux and discuss your brain break activites

• Online Video Libraries, Content and QR Codes
• PE Geek Podcasts - Episode 7 may be of interest for this group
• Indoor Recess and Brain Break Videos from Matt Gomez
• Brain Breaks Youtube Channel - someone's personal channel
• GetBodySmart - An online human anatomy and physiology texbook
• Medtropolis Kids Health - Health topics for kids
• Zisboombah - Where it's OK to play with food
• KidsHealth - for kids, teens, parents, and educators
• I-nigma
• QR Code Generator
• Standup PairUp

• PD for the teacher with Flipboard
• thephysicaleducator.com
• #pegeek and other hashtags
• PE & Health Community in Edmodo
• Pinterest Boards
• Reflection Walk Shareout

Little Stars Customizable Multi Player Skills Practice App PreK/Primary

Little Stars Toddler Game is a great Pre-K to kindergarten practice app for students.   This free app is ad-free, great layout, for both the iPad and iPod, and easy to use.   Students can work in one or two player mode, listen to the word, and choose the image that matches.  Correct answers get a verbal congratulations and moves their rocket along the path.  

The preloaded topics of the game can be seen below, covering many basic skills.  Teachers can choose which categories the game will draw from in the settings.

The power in this app, as well as most by Alligator Apps, is that the app is customizable.  Teachers can adapt the game to include categories of skills that may not be loaded already or modify the categories already loaded to match their curriculum materials.  By using the camera and microphone built into the iPad, this is very easy.  

Add categories like basic sight words, images from around the classroom or school, teacher and student names, etc. are just a few ideas for customizing the app for a specific classroom or student. In addition by recording the audio, this app could be customized in any language expanding the possibilities!

iPads Integrated into Math

GTKY - piccollage
SAMR/Flipped Classroom Discussion

Common Core Standards Initiative - Math

Objective: To be exposed to a few ideas and apps in several different implementation strategies using an iPad in a Math Class.


Using iPads to get immediate feedback from students

• InfuseLearning 

iPad compatible online resources, with teacher student reported data

• XtraMath (Mathfacts website)
• Happy  Numbers (Number Sense and Algorithm Practice)
• Manga High Math (Math Practice based on CCSS)
• Slader Math or Slader iTunes App (Check your textbook based math homework problems)  

Intervention, Drill and Practice Apps: The app will provide you with feedback

• Flash to Pass - Math Fact Practice
• Loot Pursuit or LP Talum - Middle School Math Concept Practice
• Common Core Concepts - Review of common core concepts
• ClockMaster - review clock basics
• Math Millionaire - An online site to review math skills, 3rd on up  

Apps With a Problem Solving Twist

• DeepSea Dual
• This=That
• 5Dice

Online Video Libraries: Online videos, some also pair with practice

• Khan Academy
• Hippocampus
• Math TV

Manipulatives and Online Tools Apps: The app allows for exploration, generally no feedback

• Geoboard
• Number Pieces Basic
• MyScript Calculator - a scribble interpretive calculator
• Fluid Math Free
• m.wolframalpha.com 
• Geogebra   http://www.geogebratube.org/
• Geometry Pad

Creating and Showing Work Apps: Screen casting or using an app to broadcast to class

• Educreation
• 30hands  
• BaiBoard
  

QR Code Integration into Math

• QR code Math Problems 
• QR Code Reader : I-nigma 
• For Chromebooks:  ScanQR app
• QR code generator
• QR Code implementation guide from Cool Cat

Teacher Resources

• K-5 Math Teaching Resources
• Mathematics Assessment Resource Service (MARS) Tasks
• Math Maven Mysteries
• Yummy Math 
• Edmodo community - use a free teacher account to gain access

App reviews and more from iDevice in the Mtns 

Apps from EdTechTeacher

Tech Links from IMESD

Apps to Celebrate Computer Science Week Dec 9 - 13

Next week is Computer Science Week and it's a great time to introduce coding and programming to your students.  Code.org is recruiting classrooms around the country to participate in an hour of coding next week with their Hour of Code.    Check out the great programs, computer science statistics, and lessons for teachers to use on this site.  There are also some great apps for the iPads to introduce students to the concept of programming.

Kodable  
Free app that would be great for introducing students of any age to the basics of programming with drag and drop features.  No reading required, collect cute little fuzz ball characters, and work through the first section with over 35 levels to master.  Purchase additional levels for $1.99 or go Pro with the app for $6.99.  




Daisy the Dinosaur 
Free basic app for beginning elementary coders.  Students must be able to read to follow the instructions for the challenges.  Drag and drop format to make Daisy do what is needed. 


Hopscotch
Free app based on MIT's Scratch program.  This is also drag and drop with a great free play atmosphere allowing students to program their characters to move, draw lines, add words, and respond to movements of the iPad.  One of the top rated apps, and a great way to allow students to create!




Light-Bot, Lite (Free), Hour of Code(Free)
There are three versions of this app, for the Hour of Code there are 18 different challenges for the students.    There is an additional lite version of the app as well as a pro version available. 



Have students work together to problem solve and achieve a common goal, helping the grow in their problem solving skills, collaboration, and perseverance.  You may have the next great computer programmer in your room right now!

Jan Cuny

Program Officer, National Science Foundation

“All of today’s kids will need—along with reading, writing, and arithmetic—a basic understanding of computation and the role that it plays across a wide range of disciplines. Coding is engaging and empowering. It’s a necessary 21st Century skill.“

(from Code.org)